Rubbish, Varese virtuous province

More than six out of 10 municipalities, in the province of Varese, differentiate more than 70% of the rubbish that they produce: on average 400 kilos per year, for each resident.

In general for the province of Varese this means a separate collection of 63% in 2013, a level that puts Varese area in second place in Lombardy and at 18th at a national level. This is the picture of what we throw in garbage cans taken from the province of Varese which shows the data of 2013, crossing values obtained from ArpaLombardia at regional level and at Ispra (Higher Institute for the Protection and Environmental Research) at a national level.

For the second year we obtained a production of trash per inhabitants of less than 450 kilos, equal to other 43 provinces of excellence at a national level.

We can see that after year of relevant reduction, the total production of rubbish of Varese in 2013 presents a good balance unlike the former year and with performances every time better than the regional and national average, both for separate collection rate for the total production of trash.

The total production keeps for the second year in a row below the 400,000 tons, with a decrease of 0.7% in the total production and of 0.3 % at per capita level, which lead us to production levels pre 1999.

The annual data of production per inhabitant stands at 443.8 kilos, instead of 445.3 kilos of the previous year, of which 164.3 kilos/inhabitant a year of undifferentiated and 279.5 kilos/inhabitant a year of differentiated, equal to 63% of the total.

For the second year the trend of the provincial separate collection average doesn’t come from the increase of interception of different fractions, like in the former years (which they reduce all except headcount, plastic and mixed materials, due to the economic situation), but due to a decrease of undifferentiated trash, that between 2012 and 2013 reduced by a further 2% (purple bag) and 1.8% (bulky).

For what concerns the ultimate fate of the undifferentiated trash (waste for disposal), equal to 145,864 tons, the request to incinerating and selection plants now exceeds landfills.

After many initiatives implemented in 2011 and 2012 to achieve the level of excellence of 65% recycling, 2013 was the year of stabilization of the results achieved: it is essentially unchanged compared to 2012 the number of municipalities that have a level separate collection more than 65%, amounting in 2013 to 65 of 141 municipalities.

Of those 65, 34 cities had overcome 70% of recycling wastes. It concerns the cities of Cassano Magnago, on schedule with the pre-paid sacks, and the cities of the COINGER group, that reached this aim thanks to some campaigns of stiff checking on the citizens of Biandronno, Arsago Seprio, Tradate, Vergiate, Ispra, Saronno (39,422 settlers, at 70.7%) Ranco and Pino, on the Lago Maggiore.

The 65 cities that had overcome the 65% are representative of a total population of 394,000 citizens, that includes the citizens of Saronno and Gallarate (52,455 settlers, at 65.4%). 27 cities are between 60% and 65% of recycling wastes; between those there are Somma Lombardo, Caronno Pertusella, Cardano al Campo, Sesto Calende, Olgiate and Fagnano Olona.

The 49 cities that are left are between 60% and 44.7% of recycling wastes; a total number of 330,000 settlers, including Busto Arsizio (81,744 citizens, 59.3%) and Varese (80,927, 58%).

“The waste production plan of 2013 in the Province shows a situation that reached a full development,”you can read in the report, “in which all the 141 cities had activated the recycling waste system of dry-moist garbage”, not forgetting the other recollecting forms of domestic wastes of paper, glass and metals, and plastic.

The new Regional Waste Management Plan, approved last summer, takes as its own the model proposed by the Regional Waste Observatory of Varese in 2012 and the regional objectives (65% of recycling waste and a total waste production per citizen of 455kg/inhabitant, to reach before 2020) are perfectly available, or in much cases already available, in our cities.

“To help focusing our already fantastic Cities to excellent results,” you can read in the report of the Province, “the Waste Report 2013 is reporting the synthesis of the national Report ISPRA and the Dossier of Comuni Ricicloni of Legambiente”

At a National level, the estimates of 2013 elaborated by ISPRA see us at 18 place for the recycling waste and between the 43 Italian provinces that produce less than 450 kg/inhabitant every year of wastes. At regional level we’re the second Lombard province (after Mantova, that in 2013 saw his capital passing to a domestic recollection of the wastes, leaving behind the old system of recollection using public bins) and at 4th place for annual production of total waste.

For what concerns the disposal planting, with the lowering of the total unrecycled waste from some year the province looks like it has become self-sufficient. The destiny of the plants out of the province is sided with the market chooses of the operators alone, and was also admitted by the new Regional Waste Management Plan, that configures a regional network of plants for 2020.